Sullinger Announces Retirement, Returns to Ohio State University, Guangdong Becomes a Retirement Stopover

On September 4, 2026, Sullinger announced his retirement. He will return to his alma mater, Ohio State University, to work as the men's basketball team's player development director. In fact, Sullinger's performances had not been very good over the past few seasons. As he aged, his ability to create offense in difficult situations declined sharply, making it hard for him to be the player who could decide games at critical moments. In addition, his defense and rebounding performances were also not good, so no matter which team he joined, he would face criticism, and his attitude was also questioned.

Under these circumstances, it is understandable that Sullinger chose to retire. His level had indeed been gradually declining. Since he also has a job opportunity, there is nothing wrong with his decision, and it can be seen as securing a post-retirement path for himself.

However, for Guangdong, the situation is quite awkward. Many players have finished their final season with Guangdong and then chosen to retire, leading many fans to jokingly call the team a retirement stopover.

For example, in the 2024-2025 season, Barton played nine games that season before being released by Guangdong. In April 2025, he announced his retirement and signed with the BIG3 league. Before that, there was also Hamilton, who played for Guangdong in the 2022-2023 season and announced his retirement on September 1, 2024, while also joining the Warriors' coaching staff.

Going further back, there was Boozer in the 2016-2017 season. At that time, he was already planning to retire, but Guangdong still signed him. After playing that season, he was not picked up by another team and also chose to retire.

This situation is indeed awkward. In recent years, Guangdong's foreign player selections have not been ideal because of financial limitations. Even after spending heavily last season, the integration of foreign players was still not effective. Hopefully, they can bring more surprises this year.